Aggie Alex Wilson Having Success as Detroit Tigers Relief PItcher

Everyday Alex Wilson

The Detroit Tigers bullpen has been infamously plagued for about the past 10 years; Tigers fans understand the pain of having a lead go to waste in the 7th, 8th, or 9^th inning like Aggie fans knew no lead was safe going into the second half of a football game in 2011. Amidst the plague, there has been an impressive amount of consistency from one pitcher, Alex Wilson. Wilson also happens to be an Aggie, not really surprised there are we? I know I’m not.

Wilson transferred to Texas A&M from Winthrop University in 2008, he had previously been selected in the 10^th round of the MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs but chose not to sign. Instead he transferred to Texas A&M. Wilson only pitched a year in Aggieland and found himself in a variety of roles as a pitcher. He finished the year with a 6-6 record, started 8 games, and saved 2. His role may have been a bit ambiguous, his strikeout numbers on the other hand, were not. He posted an astounding 120 strikeouts in 90 innings of work.

His performance at Texas A&M propelled his draft stock, in 2009 he was chosen by the Boston Red Sox in the second round. Wilson spent four years in the minors before making his Major League debut in 2013. Wilson finished the year with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.304 WHIP, not too shabby for a rookie.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson then landed in Detroit via trade. The Tigers sent Rick Porcello to the Red Sox and the Tigers got Wilson in return. What has he done since then? Well let’s look at the numbers. In 2015 he appeared in 59 games, had an ERA of 2.19, with 70 innings of work, 38 strikeouts, 12 walks, and a WHIP of 1.029. The Tigers pitching staff posted a combined 4.64 ERA for the year of 2015. It was then that it became apparent: Alex Wilson got it done for Detroit. 2016 was much of the same story. Wilson finished with an ERA of 2.96, 49 strikeouts, 21 walks, and an opponent batting average of .252. The Tigers improved overall with a 4.24 ERA, their season also faired better than the tumultuous 2015 season.

Wilson’s consistency over the past 2 years has landed him the moniker: Everyday Alex Wilson. Brad Ausmus can trot Wilson out as the 7^th inning reliever, 8^th inning set up man, or even the 9^th inning closer, and there is a solid chance that Wilson will get the job done. The moniker continues to be solidified, in 19 games this season he has posted a 1.47 ERA with just one extra base hit (curse you Rua) since April 6. For those who are not of the baseball stat speaking language: that is pretty ding-dong good.

Wilson will most likely continue his Everyday Excellence ways, which is good for Tigers fans hearts and Brad Ausmus’ headaches. In reality, he makes Ausmus job a bit easier, unfortunately Brad can not trot Alex out every game, even though he probably really wants to. Overusing Wilson, could come at a cost. In late 2015, Wilson suffered through a bit of dead arm because in all honesty, he was the only consistent reliever in a very bad downward spiral that resulted in a massive sell at the trade deadline and a bunch of ridiculous hoopla about Ausmus needing to be fired.

It should be noted that as impressive as his pitching is, there is another remarkable thing about him: he could be Chris Pratt’s twin brother…not even joking. The resemblance is uncanny to Starlord.

He’s also a pretty great Twitter follow and is very a proud Aggie…even though his battery mate James McCann went to Arkansas. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You can follow Alex on Twitter @WillyWilson18

all stats were found using baseballreference.com